Liturgy Pacific is the on-line presence of Richard Geoffrey Leggett, Rector of Saint Faith's Anglican Church in Vancouver and Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Studies at Vancouver School of Theology. Here you will find sermons, comments on current Anglican and Lutheran affairs and reflections on the need for progressive orthodox Christians to re-claim our place on the theological stage.

55.1 Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no
money, come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine
and milkwithout money and without
price.2 Why do you spend
your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not
satisfy?Listen carefully to me, and eat
what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.3 Incline your ear, and come to
me; listen, so that you may live.I will
make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.4 See, I made him a witness to the
peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.5 See, you shall call nations that
you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of
the Lord your God, the Holy One of
Israel,

for he has
glorified you.

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon
him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake their way, and the
unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon.8 For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm

Psalm 63.1-8 with
refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung
twice):To you we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.

1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *

my soul thirsts
for you, my flesh faints for you,

as in a barren
and dry land where there is no water.

2Therefore I have gazed
upon you in your holy place, *

that I might behold your power and
your glory.

Refrain:To you
we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.

3 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *

my lips shall
give you praise.

4So will I bless you as
long as I live *

and lift up my hands in your name.

5 My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *

and my mouth
praises you with joyful lips,

6when I remember you upon
my bed, *

and meditate on you in the night
watches.

Refrain:To you
we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.

7 For you have been my helper, *

and under the
shadow of your wings I will rejoice.

8My soul clings to you; *

your mighty hand holds me fast.

Refrain:To you
we lift our hearts in prayer and praise.

The Second Reading

A reading from Paul’s
first letter to the Corinthians (10.1-13).

10.1 I do not want you to
be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4
and all drank the same spiritual drink. For
they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, God was not
pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

6 Now these things
occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.7 Do not become idolaters as some of
them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they
rose up to play.” 8 We must
not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand
fell in a single day. 9 We
must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by
serpents. 10 And do not
complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to
serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the
ends of the ages have come. 12
So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you
that is not common to everyone. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the
testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

The Hymn before the Gospel

‘Eternal Lord of
Love, Behold Your Church’ Common Praise
#174

The Gospel

The Lord be with
you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke (13.1-9).

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

13.1 At that very time
there were some present who told [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate
had mingled with their sacrifices. 2
[Jesus] asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this
way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you
repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed
when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse
offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you
repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

6 Then [Jesus] told this
parable:“A man had a fig tree planted
in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See
here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still
I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 [The gardener] replied, ‘Sir, let it alone
for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well
and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

It is right to
give you thanks and praise, O Lord, our God, sustainer of the universe, you are
worthy of glory and praise.Glory to you for ever and ever.

At your command
all things came to be:the vast expanse
of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this
fragile earth, our island home; by your will they were created and have their
being.Glory to you for ever and ever.

From the primal
elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason,
and skill; you made us the stewards of creation.Glory
to you for ever and ever.

But we turn
against you, and betray your trust; and we turn against one another.Again and again you call us to return.Through the prophets and sages you reveal
your righteous law.In the fullness of
time you sent your Son, born of a woman, to be our Saviour.He was wounded for our transgressions, and
bruised for our iniquities.By his death
he opened to us the way of freedom and peace.Glory to you for ever and ever.

Therefore we
praise you, joining with the heavenly chorus, with prophets, apostles, and
martyrs, and with those in every generation who have looked to you in hope, to
proclaim with them your glory, in their unending hymn.

Blessed are you,
Lord our God, for sending us Jesus, the Christ, who on the night he was handed
over to suffering and death, took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread,
gave it to his friends, and said, “Take this, and eat it:this is my body which is given for you.Do this for the remembrance of me.”

In the same way,
after supper, he took the cup of wine; he gave you thanks, and said, “Drink
this, all of you:this is my blood of
the new covenant, which is shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness
of sins.Whenever you drink it, do this
for the remembrance of me.”Glory to you for ever and ever.

Gracious God, we
recall the death of your Son Jesus Christ, we proclaim his resurrection and
ascension, and we look with expectation for his coming as Lord of all the
nations.We who have been redeemed by
him, and made a new people by water and the Spirit, now bring you these
gifts.Send your Holy Spirit upon us and
upon this offering of your Church, so that we who eat and drink at this holy
table may share the divine life of Christ our Lord.Glory
to you for ever and ever.

Pour out your
Spirit upon the whole earth and make it your new creation.Gather your Church together from the ends of
the earth into your kingdom, where peace and justice are revealed, so that we,
with all your people, of every language, race, and nation, may share the
banquet you have promised; through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, all
honour and glory are yours, creator of all.Glory to you for ever and
ever.Amen.

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About Me

Richard is a presbyter of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster with a number of responsibilities. He is Rector of Saint Faith's Anglican Church in Vancouver. Richard is also the Principal Consultant for Liturgy Pacific, a worship consultancy providing educational seminars and resources for congregational life and ministry. After 23 years as a member of the faculty of Vancouver School of Theology, Dr Leggett became Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Studies in 2010. Since 1989 Dr Leggett has served on various national committees of the Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches in Canada and is a regular participant in the work of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation. From 2010 to 2016 he was a Member of the Liturgy Task Force of the Anglican Church of Canada.